How to Easily Root Moto G5 and G5 Plus [and Install TWRP too]

If you’re willing to customize your Moto G5 beyond what the OEM offers, then the word “Root” must have already clicked your mind by now. So here, we’re going to help you root Moto G5 and G5 Plus.

Rooting will enable you to gain complete control over your device partitions, so you can mount them, access them, and modify them at your will. This allows you to get past the limitations laid down by the manufacturer. You will be able to use mods like ViPER4Android and Magisk, to make the most out of the current features and even add new ones.

Rooting on the G5 or G5 Plus is not as easy as just flashing SuperSU. For some reason, flashing SuperSU/phh’s Superuser has failed for many users who have already tried. But there is one confirmed method that will work – MagiskSU. And even with that, only a specific version of Magisk is assured to be working. Also, we will be flashing an unofficial port of TWRP, which has been provided to the users by XDA Developer – Santhosh M. We appreciate the work he has done for the community.

How to Root Moto G5 and G5 Plus

» Flash TWRP Recovery

Reboot your device into bootloader mode – Power it off completely. Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys until you see the bootloader mode.

// Bootloader mode on Moto G3, similar to that of G5

Now connect the phone to the PC using a compatible USB cable.

Open the folder where the TWRP recovery image was downloaded. Press and hold the SHIFT key, and right-click on an empty space inside the same folder. Select Open command window here from the pop-up menu.

A command prompt window will open. Type in the following code to make sure that your device is being detected correctly.

fastboot devices

The command should return a device ID. If it doesn’t, make sure that you have installed Motorola drivers properly.

Flash the TWRP recovery using the following command.
Moto G5:

fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.1.0-0-cedric.img

Moto G5 Plus:

fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.1.0-0-potter.img

The flashing process wouldn’t take more than a few seconds. Don’t boot your device yet.

» Decrypt The Storage & Root

Now that you have TWRP installed, you will be using it to decrypt the storage and finally root Moto G5.

While your device is still in bootloader mode since the previous step, press either of the volume buttons until your see Recovery mode highlighted. Finally hit the power button to boot into recovery.

The first time that your device boots into TWRP, it shall ask for a password. So, tap on Cancel. You will instantly be prompted with a warning message for “Unmodified System Partition”, so swipe and allow it.

Tap on Wipe > Format Data and enter “yes” in the provided field. This will format the complete data partition, which also includes the internal storage.

Head back to the TWRP main screen and go to Reboot > Recovery. Your G5 will instantly reboot back into TWRP.

Now while your device is in TWRP, connect it to the PC. Go to Mount > Enable MTP.

Copy both the files to the storage and then tap on Disable MTP.

Go to Install and select the no-verity-opt-encrypt-5.1.zip file and confirm the flashing process.

When it’s done flashing, flash the “Magisk-v12.0.zip” file in the same manner. Finally, tap on Reboot System. This is how you easily root Moto G5 and G5 Plus.

// Screenshot credits: Santhosh M @XDA-Developers

Go ahead, there are loads that you can do with it. A few things definitely worth trying are ViPER4Android, SELinuxToggler, and Magisk Modules. Do you know of something interesting, specific to the G5? Let us know by dropping a comment below.

Don’t forget to share this article on your social profiles and let your friends know about it too.

Dhananjay (DJ) is an Android devotee and a Tech Blogger by profession. He is a keen undergraduate, seeking and working hard on his ambitions to achieve something distinctive in his life. He prefers interacting with his readers in the most reproaching manner possible and his desires here are not just to reach out the tech figures, but also attract those non-interested minds to our Android universe. He proudly owns Nexus 6P, Nexus 5, OnePlus One and a Nexus 4.

Yes, that is why step #3 under “decrypt the storage & root” asks you to format data partition, so that you can access the internal storage. If you don’t do it, you won’t be able to access the internal storage. 🙂